For the serious hiker camping canister stoves are the way to go. They heat up fast, are lightweight, energy-efficient, safer, reliable, and wind resistant.
Heats Up Fast
The Camp Chef Stryker 200 camping canister stove can heat up half a litre of water in 2 minutes. Other stoves can take over 15 minutes to do the same job.
Lightweight and Energy-efficient
When it comes to hiking every piece of equipment you take means another gram you have to lug around on your back. The weird thing about these stoves is that they aren’t the lightest. So, why did we just claim they were lightweight? The secret is that these stoves save weight in the amount of fuel you have to carry. They are highly efficient with the sealed liquid fuel canisters. Compared to alcohol stoves where you will have to carry a lot more weight the more complex design provides vastly superior energy efficiency. Our Camp Chef Stryker 200 camp test stove came in at less than 19 ounces. For a stove made for 3-4 adults that is fairly light.
Safer
Forest fires are a terrible thing. As Smokey the Bear says “only you can prevent forest fires”. You can do your part by picking a stove that uses a sealed canister for fuel. Other types of camp stoves like liquid alcohol have due to spills started forest fires. This is why they are banned in the state of California.
Reliability
The advanced design is easy to start. Canister stoves use fuel canisters filled with a pressurized gas mixture (typically isobutane, propane, or butane). This means:
- No pumping is required.
- The fuel flows instantly when the valve is opened.
Wind Resistant
The tall canister design means some air can get in, but not enough to cause your flame to go out, unlike other designs.
What Are the Downsides of Camping Canister Stoves?
Nothing is perfect and just like everything there is always trade-offs.
Propane is abundant in North America and Australia, but if you go to places like Africa propane is hard to come by. If your hike involves going to places where propane is scarce avoid this stove. If you are staying in Canada you shouldn’t have a problem finding canisters of propane fuel at hardware stores.
These stoves are a little noisier. The way they restrict air to help get the best fuel to air ratio for fuel efficiency means that the air has to go through smaller channels. That will cause a bit of noise.
They are more expensive. Cheaper stamped out folding stoves will be cheaper due to their primitive design, but don’t worry, the camping experts at camping-gear.ca have found a special deal on that they want to pass on to you. Similar sized canister stoves sell at big-box stores for $94.95. But don’t fret. We are excited to have found a an amazing deal on them that we want to pass on. The stove in our example Visit the store below in London Ontario to get yours for only $39.95. This is a limited time one-shot deal offer. Once these are gone that’s it. You are stuck paying full-price for these. Don’t delay! Visit the store below today.
